SEO: Debunking The Myths On Myths

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Friday, 16 of November , 2007 at 9:39 am

About once a week somebody will publish an article somewhere about the SEO myths. Strangely, they’re all different and sometimes contradict each other. Trying to get two SEOs to agree with each other on something is like trying to get two young children to play with the same toy without fighting. If it happens, it’ll be a miracle.

The following article was published in SEO-News yesterday. It isn’t the first time. Kalena likes that article.

Myth 1 - You need to buy a domain with keywords in it

I’m sure you’ve seen them, domains like: www.paris-hilton-pink-diamond-dog-collars.com. For some weird reason, webmasters seem to think that they need to have a keyword-stuffed domain to do well in the search engines, the more hyphens the better. Well it just isn’t true. In fact, Google spam evangelist Matt Cutts is known for warning against using over-stuffed keyword domains. If you have a look at one of the last sentences of this post of his he talks about possibly attracting Google’s attention with keyword-filled domains and gives an (excessive) example. Could he be hinting that using ultra-keyworded domains may trip a filter of some kind? I think so.

It’s possible, but Matt’s article is about dashes vs. underscores and I think it’s dangerous to read things into it. As far as keywords in the URL, Kalena Jordan’s article seems to imply that they aren’t necessary. While it might be true that you can rank a website without having keywords in the URL, it’s still just as true that keywords in the URL are considered by the search engines just like they consider them in your meta tags. Not the most important ranking factor, but not to be ignored either.

Kalena Jordan’s example is more of a reason to shun long domain names. Most SEOs agree that shorter domain names are better. Think about it. If you optimize around one keyword and you have two words in your domain name then you have a 50% density in your domain name. If you have 10 words in your domain name then that’s just a 10% density in your domain name. Now, I don’t think the search engines measure keyword density in your domain name, but I am simply pointing out that optimizing your URL with your keyword in a short domain name is better than either of the other two options:

1. Using your keyword in a long domain name
2. Having no keyword at all in your domain name

Bear in mind, though, that putting to much emphasis on any one ranking factor is dangerous.

Myth 3 - You need to stuff keywords into as many areas of your site as possible

I like to think this rumor was started by the same idiot who started 1). It’s correct that search engines actively seek to match your site content with search queries, but stuffing the same keywords over and over into your site code via visible or invisible text DOES NOT automatically make your site relevant for searches containing those keywords. It’s more likely to trip spam filters and earn your site a ranking suppression. In fact, you might as well hold up a big red flag to Googlebot that says “COME AND GET ME”.

Keyword stuffing doesn’t work. Anyone who has tried it knows that. You have to be smart about your keywords. Using too many can be just as bad as not using enough. Even worse because if you get on the search engines’ bad side then you have no advocates. They want you to rank well. The best strategy for you is to work within their guidelines.

OK, that’s just one debunk. In actuality, Kalena Jordan hit the nail on the head with most of them. I think she’s made a good point with the overstuffed keywords in the domain name discussion, but she leaves the impression that keywords in the domain name aren’t necessary at all. I don’t think they’re necessary, but I do think they are desirable.

Read the rest of the article here

Category: SEO

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